We were delighted to welcome another team of fellows to the Central Region last month, as our second partnership project with Limited Resource Teacher Training got underway.

This year, most of the fellows who joined us were from America. Their earlier summer holiday allowed them to travel at the start of July, meaning fellows were able to spend more time in their Ghanaian colleague’s classrooms while classes were still in full swing, and they could get to know how everything works in Ghana before delivering their training.

From 11th-14th July, over 150 lower primary teachers and head teachers attended a workshop in Cape Coast that covered a whole range of teaching methodology, from effective lesson planning and pupil assessment, to techniques for positively managing classroom behaviour for optimal learning. The whole week was jam-packed with games, actions and songs for the teachers to take back to their classrooms, but we have a sneaking suspicion they might be spreading through their hometowns over the holiday period, too, given how many could be heard singing as we said farewell on the Friday afternoon!

In a change to last year’s structure, officers from Ghana Education Service and tutors from OLA College of Education attended a separate workshop the following week, from 18th-21st July. Covering most of the same topics as the teachers had the previous week, the content of this workshop was tailored to focus more on how to support and supervise the teachers’ implementation in their classrooms, and had an added session specifically for coaching and supervision. We were fortunate to have fellows who deliver teacher training and professional development back in their day-jobs, so it was a great opportunity to tap in to their knowledge for these sessions.

The teachers are all now on their well-deserved long holiday until September, but we can’t wait to get into the classrooms next term and see how the teachers are implementing their new skills. To the fellows, who headed back to their various hometowns at the end of the month, we say a huge medaase pa pa pa, and we hope to welcome you back to Ghana again soon.